It is once again that time in the semester when I worry if I will ever graduate college as I register for next semester’s courses.

As I scroll through the catalog, I pause every now and then for a brief “that sounds interesting” moment, but I’m brought back down to Earth when I remember that underwater basket-weaving has nothing to do with an actual career (unless you want to be an underwater basket-weaver).

As daunting as it is to be reminded that the rest of your life is approaching quickly, these are the times when we can imagine how great it will be once we get out and start those journeys.

To think, by the end of our college careers we will have spent about two decades becoming indoctrinated into a routine of alternating classes and homework extending from early morning until late into the night.

What awaits us? If it is a nine-to-five, then what on Earth am I going to do with all of that free time? Just kidding, I’ll watch Netflix.

For people who actually have lives, just imagine how much time you’ll have to do activities! When we no longer spend all of our time on school, part-time jobs/internships, extracurricular activities and sleep, I feel like I will finally understand why the 20s are suppose to be the best years of our lives.

One part of college I will miss is the opportunity for extended breaks that we might not have once we begin pursuing careers. When else can I take off six months to study in Peru or Turkey or Iceland?

I have no actual intention of going anywhere with “Ice” in the name — no thank you — but just the freedom of knowing that taking time to figure out my life will not set me back or seem out of the norm keeps me motivated to keep trudging along through all the muck.

Despite endless nights that I spent working because my group bailed and I’m doing the entire project, or I forgot to learn a chapter of Biology before an exam the next morning, I am excited for what these times of reflection near the closing of another semester signify.

One day there will be no more exams and reading will go back to being for fun. No more sleepless nights, no more tears, no more anxiety attacks and disastrous caffeine reactions to a quadruple-shot of espresso.

What awaits us is a new adventure. Something school will have tried to prepare us for, but probably hasn’t. We will learn on our own, we will find our own way and we’ll be proud because it was our path.

The one that we started while we were sitting at a computer watching a cursor blink as it scrolled over one class to another — each a different path to the future.